Get Your Security Deposit Back When Moving Out

Ah, the security deposit… a financial burden when moving in, a blessing when moving out. There’s a reason it’s called a deposit—because you put money down only to cover excess damages that you might cause but, you’re almost guaranteed to get it back. Unless you cause extreme damage that your landlord can prove was your fault and existed after you moved out but before new tenants moved in, you deserve to have your deposit refunded in full. Normal wear and tear on the apartment is to be expected. However, some landlords won’t make the effort to get your money back to you unless you ask for it. Beyond making sure that your crazy friends don’t trash your apartment or that the kitten you’re secretly hiding in your room doesn’t claw up the carpet too badly, here are some steps to take to ensure you get your security deposit back.

Repair damages

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but you can’t undo all the wear and tear of your tenancy at the last minute. If you are responsible for any damages to your apartment, repair them as well and as quickly as possible. Don’t wait until the very last second to try to get things done; this will only make it more likely that you’ll leave damages behind that your landlord will need to use your deposit to repair. Though your landlord might be a great person, it’s in his or her best financial interest to keep as much of your deposit as possible rather than be thrifty about repair work. For this reason, see what you can get done before moving out, don’t just leave yourself (and your security deposit) at the mercy of your landlord. This great comparison chart helps clarify the differences between wear and tear and actual damage.

Use it or lose it

Your lease might state that your security deposit counts toward your last month or two of rent (deposits are generally not allowed to exceed two to three months’ rent depending on whether the apartment is furnished or not). If that’s the case, make sure you’re aware of this situation, and communicate with your landlord about it. Rest assured that an extra rent check won’t be refused, so verify that you understand what fees you’re responsible for in the last months of your residency, and don’t overpay—unless, of course, you’re feeling generous.

Address the issue

If you don’t get your deposit back before moving out, make sure your landlord knows where to send it by providing your forwarding address. Your landlord can’t send you money if there’s no place for it to go. The law usually requires landlords to return security deposits or notify former tenants of damages using the tenant’s last known address. If this address is the apartment you’ve just vacated and you haven’t filed a change of address form with the post office, you may be out of luck.

As mentioned in our moving-out information, you’ll want to walk through your apartment with your landlord to verify that it’s clear what you did and didn’t do to the apartment as far as damages go. This should help prevent “surprise” charges for “damages” that you would have classified as normal wear and tear.

Make some waves

If you don’t receive your security deposit or an itemized list of damages from your landlord within the 30 days or other length of time (this varies by state) legally allotted for its return, take some action. Send a certified letter requesting the return of the deposit, and keep a copy for your records. Understandably, most landlords are reluctant to part with money unless forced to do so, but a little initiative in asking for your deposit will go a long way. The amount of your deposit isn’t likely to be worth more to your landlord than the money, time, and hassle that dragging the issues into small claims court would require.

Take it to court

You are likely to be successful in suing your landlord for recovering your security deposit if you haven’t been provided with clear evidence of damages and documentation of repair costs. Since your landlord can’t keep even part of your deposit without telling you why (unless your lease states otherwise), you might be able to get your deposit back even if you caused some damage to your apartment—provided you can prove the deposit was withheld without explanation. Tenants’ right associations and other legal resources can provide information that will help you recover security deposits in small claims court, so use these resources to make sure your money’s returned—you’re legally entitled to it. Since you can sue your landlord for an amount greater than your security deposit (the limit in small claims court varies by state), it’s not likely that your landlord will want to risk the headache or the monetary loss if he or she has truly been negligent in not returning or accounting for the use of your deposit.

Getting your security deposit back should be a breeze provided that you didn’t bash in walls with your electric guitar, pull the faucet off the kitchen sink in a display of your strongman skills, or turn the living room carpet from white to brown by spilling frequently and never vacuuming during your tenancy. A lightly worn apartment is to be expected following a period of normal living, as is the return of a security deposit. Demand what’s yours and you’re likely to get it; if you don’t, there’s plenty of support available.

140 Responses to “Get Your Security Deposit Back When Moving Out”

February 22, 2006 at 9:13 pm, Anonymous said:

i put down deposit on an apartment on feb 3, i went back to look it over good on feb 6, tried calling him left messages on the 7th and 8th and talked to him on the 9th. He will not give my deposit back. The apartment is a slumhole he claimed i waited too long to get it back and needs to keep it to compensate for lost prospective tenants. He would not answer his message machine and told me that he ususally doesn’t. So December 9th as he claimed was my first contact with him is not true. I left two messages on the 7 and 8th.i looked at this apartment 9 years ago and it was a craphole then. He has a 12 year old he employs to paint and work for him. Can he keep my deposit?

I moved into my apartment 2 years ago, my landlord sold the apartment building so I have a new landlord, I was forced to move (no fault of my own) because the neighbors over me toilet kept leaking causing damage to the ceiling in the kitchen, the landlord fix the hole but not the actual cause of the hole in the ceiling so it just kept coming back.
The apartment was in very good condition when I left he even posted it for rent in the local paper for rent that same week I moved out. I’ve called him several times for my security deposit with no return calls from him, until I sent a certified letter requesting my security deposit back and a itemized list of repairs and cost, then I received an response from his wife, she was trying to find every excuse she could of why I shouldn’t get it back, I must say my rent was late twice but we agreed on a time frame for me to pay it, and I paid it in full before the time frame was even up, I left the apartment not oweing any back rent, so her excuse is I owe for late fees, and they had to bring someone in to clean the oven. I asked how much was the fees she said $20 each time it was late so thats only $40 when none of this was not bought to my attention until I ask for it back. Plus she said she had to bring someone in to clean the oven, I barely used it because I was barely home and how much does a can of oven off cost get real!! So does my landlord have a leg to stand on when not giving me my security deposit back?

I RENTED AN APARTMENT. WENT ON A BUSINESS TRIP. WHEN I CAME BACK TO APARTMENT 4 DAYS LATER I REALIZED I DON’T LIKE THE APARTMENT. I NEVER MOVED IN NOW IT’S BEEN 7 DAYS. CAN I GET MY SECURITY BACK? LANDLORD IS REFUSING. I’M ON A MONTHLY RENTAL NO LEASE.

Before moving in, my land lord asked me if I had a preference to what color I wanted the walls painted as he was going to have the unit painted. I picked out 2 different colors and he had the unit painted those colors. I am now breaking my lease 2 months early as I am leaving the country, and the new tennants don’t like the current colors. Can the land lord charge me to repaint the apartment to a neutral color as the new tennants are requesting. My lease does not state anything regarding the paint color. He never told me it would be up to me to have the unit painted before i moved out. It was his decision to paint the walls the colors i picked out.. I thought he was just being nice.

This exact same thing is happening to me with my landlord right now. The walls were actually painted by previous tenants and when we moved in, we asked them to keep it. They never stated, nor does our lease state that we would be responsible to paint it white upon moving out. But our landlord has been really difficult to deal with and is insisting that if we don’t paint it white, he will charge us. I don’t know if it’s worth the fight, but I’m really upset with the way it’s been handled… has anyone given you good advice?

I rented an apartment 2 years ago in a 2 family home. My Landlords recently sold the home and the new landlord will be moving in this Friday. I asked my landlord for my deposit back because my lease is up May 1st. He said that they need to speak with the Lawyer 1st because there not sure if it gets taken care of at closing or the money gets handed over to the new Owner. Does this make sense? Is this the normal way that this gets handled? I just don’t want to be screwed over since I have always done right by my current landlord and have always paid on time.

Well, I have been living in an in-law for seven months and plan to move out. But I would like to know if we never had a lease or receipts can I give just 2 weeks notice or does it have to be 30 days? Will I get my $200..back? Help someone.

When we moved into our new apartment (a luxury building), our lease manager told us we could pay a “surety bond” instead of security deposit. She informed us that the $450 bond would cover any damages upto $2500, upon leaving. Now that we have moved out, we recieved a letter with a list of damages that we have to pay for to fix. When asked about the surety bond, they are giving us a new description of what it was and it was nothing what they told us (the old manager has left the job and the new manager is not taking any responsibility for misinformation). What should we do in this situation?

i put a deposit down on a potential apartment my fiance and i were checking out…we were planning on moving in by the first, this was the 13 of the previous month. we had changed our mind about the apartment by the 16th of the same month, had never moved in, and the women disapeared to florida. wehave been calling her to recieve a check back, and she keeps telling us we have to wait for her to come back to get our money back. we have been trying to put a deposit down on another apartment before the end of the month and it is now the 20th. what should i do?

I lived in an apartment for 2 years. We had to put a full months security deposit down at the beginning. When we moved out we asked about the security deposit and our landlord laughed at us saying that there was no way we were getting it back. She said that she should be charging us! We asked what this was all about and so she said she would send a list of repairs and their expenses.
The last week we were there we did a whole bunch of things for the apt. We rented a carpet cleaner, we used oven cleaner on the oven and made it spotless. We cleaned ever corner of every room. She sent us her list and she told us that we were responsible for painting the walls and that cost her $600. (that wasn’t in the lease agreement and we never changed the color from white). She said that the carpet had to be re-cleaned and said that that costed $60. She said that cleaning the windows cost her another $60. THEN she listed light bulbs at a total of $20!!! When we moved in there were 3 lightbulbs in the whole place. When we left, we left all but one lightbulb (there were 7 total). We took pictures of the apartment when we had gotten all of our belongings out.
There were a bunch of problems that occured while we lived there that she was hesitant to fix, including our hot water heater (cold water for a week!), our ceiling collapsing because of pooling water from the apt above (we-including our BABY- had to sleep in our living room for a week and breathe in the dust that was created by the construction because she wouldn’t pay for a hotel or anything). And we brought those things up to her when she sent us that funny list of charges. Her only argument was that our kid was messy.
We told her that we were going to take her to court to get the money back but soon found out that doing so would cost us more in court costs and that was something we couldn’t afford. I wish that we could have done something because that was money that we desparately needed…money that we still desparately need. Is it ever possible to get your money back when it has been so long and the mean old woman is willing to fight so hard???

We rented an apartment and lived in it for 10 months. The carpets were said to have been new when we moved in. After moving out the management has sent me a claim charging to replace entire carpet for “stains.” Also they mention they will send it to collections if not paid. But I want to dispute the claim. In this circumstance what is their legal authority to affect my credit. We know we left in good condition and we even employed a professional cleaning service to clean the aprtment before leaving.

What resources do I have to prevent this from affecting my credit? The management is saying they would send it to collections and I want to prepare my legal options. Thanks.

Is there a limit on how much they can deduct for cleaning the carpet, oven, etc? I lived in the place for 4 years so there’s the normal wear and tear, but I didn’t get to really clean before I left, and have yet to receive my deposit.

I’m in a similar situation where I’ve leased an apartment for october 1st but the landlord says the current tenants refuses to leave until the 15th. It’s so frustrating and I know the landlord is a good guy, it’s just the annoying current tenant. Is there any remedy to this?

You should look up your state’s landlord/tenant laws. There are laws in Washington state that say a water heater must be fixed within 1 or 2 days, otherwise, the person can move out & break the lease legally. And those charges that your previous landlord seem to be ridiculous. Paint is considered to be normal wear and tear. And $600 is not reasonable for paint and supplies. We painted our whole apartment (1050 sq. ft) different colors and the supplies and paint were maybe $60-80. And our landlord said they will paint it back to the original color free of charge. Good luck. I hope our landlord won’t try to do anything like that when we move out.

What you can do is pre-sign a lease. That way if the previous tenant does not leave legally they have to move you in to that apartment and if they do not then they are fully obligated to refund you any money you have put down and if you would like to take them to small claims court for re-embursement for the inconvenience you can.

Normally if the carpet is brand new you can ask for a statement or a bill from the company who installed which will show the date it was installed. A lanlord should have this and if they do not it will help your case of them just stating it is “new.” If they cannot provide a statement legally they can only charge you for a certain percentage of the cost of replacing that carpet. And unfortanuatly if you did not specify the stains on your move in wall thru statement then they can charge you for replacement up to a certain amount. I suggust in the future take pictures with a camera if you believe the carpets were not cleaned on move in and make sure the picture has a date that appears on it. That way you cover yourself. And if they do take you to court make sure you got a reciept from the carpet company you hired that may help your case.

we took out a six month lease on a house and put down a £800 bond. On the day we moved in the landlord was supposed to meet us so we could go through any existing things that may have been wrong with the house eg stains on carpets marks on walls etc. but unfortunately she was otherwise engaged on the day so we where asked to make alist ourselves and post it to her which we did. We have now moved out of the property and on requesting our bond back have been refused as she is disputing what we said

we informed the landlord of all works that needed doing on moving into the property they asked us to put it in writing which we did but o moving out she is now disputing the works and trying to blame us for them and she is holding back our bond to pay for them.she is also saying the house needs a general clean but we left the house spotless what can i do to get my deposit back?

I lived in a townhouse in Minnesota that is owned by a large rental company for over six years. Bought a house and gave my 60 day notice. Moved out after 30 days but had every intent of paying my rent through the 60 days. They filed an unlawful detainer because I paid my rent on the eight of the month the last month, when I was already moved out of the unit. I admit I forgot with moving and I included $125.00 in late fees in my rent. I took it to court and they returned my check. They dropped the unlawful detainer because they claimed “abandonment” after I went to court and asked for a factual hearing because the paperwork said I had until the 10th to pay my rent. I had a $1400.00 deposit and I turned in the keys on the 20th of the month after throughly cleaning the unit and making repairs. They sent itemization after 31 days from turning in the keys saying they were keeping my full deposit and interest plus stating I owed them over $300.00 dollars more. I sent them a letter stating the notification was too late therefore I intended the full amount of the deposit plus interest to be paid in full. There was virtually no damage and the unit was in excellent shape and very clean. I believe I am legally entitled to double the amount since the itemization is late is that correct? They are still trying to collect the filing fee for the unlawful detainer when they dropped all the charges after they saw all the documentation that I had (late notices, lease and witness statements) stating I had the rent there on time and they refused my payment. Do I have a legal ground to stand on here?

My mother along with my two brothers had recently moved into a 4 bedroom home which was still under construction when they signed the lease and moved in. It was a real dive but over the course of three 3-4 months the landlord had managed to finish up the top floor bedrooms(2) and replastered the walls and did duct work, etc. He was in and out of the house non-stop for 3-4 months and my family had almost no privacy during this period.

The landlord stated that all the renevations would be done by the time the lease was active and they moved in. This wasn’t the case at all.

My mother and I had recently lived in New Orleans until Katrina hit and we moved to New Jersey. I then moved away from New Jersey and my two brothers moved in with my mother. (long story and kinda irrelavent)

Soon after all renevations were complete the landlord began to get a little weird and started complaining about his flower bed (he lived in a back apt for some of the time he was visiting the area) being messed with. He took extreme measures and installed a CCTV system directly on my mothers porch overlooking her door way and another tenants doorway. The porch which it also overlooks is a direct route to enter my mothers house and is a confined space. Not ony did he install a CCTV system btu he was always sitting on my mothers porch and not alowing her access to it. He and his dog.

The porch is clearly part of the property my mother was paying to rent. So not only did he monopolize the porch but also monitored it with his CCTV system. This CCTV system was not present at the lease signing or ever mentioned. Nor did he mention he wuld be using the porch so he must share it with her.

Shortly after construction was complete(about 1 month) he asked my mother to leave. this was in November but the lease was up in December.He claimed he was going to be moving to the area permanently and needed the unit for himself.

Before he installed the CCTV system he had become more aggressive over even the smallest of issues and just flat out became weird. My mother felt her privacy was breeched and she was being harrassed by the 24/7 monitoring and his bad attitude towards her and the constant guarding of the porch(her front door) by he and his dog.

My mother felt it was best to leave and find another place. She did just this and after she thought all was said and done with the weirdo landlord he refuses to give her back the security deposit claiming she left the unit in disrepair…

So to sum up things when she moved in it had two bedrooms not 4 and he was constantly working in the house which was suppose to be done. A very small heating system which was not sufficient for a 3 story 4 bedrom house. Baning and painting and strangers(other contractors) always inside her home. And ontop of that, all the wear and tare from the foot traffic the carpets were never replaced so they werent in the best condition to begin with. He installed a CCTV system directly in frnt of her door on *her* property that she was renting and then asked her to vacate the premises so he could move in.

A few days after my mother moves out she swings by to pick up some mail and another family is now living in the house…not him. He claimed my mother left the house in disrepair, but has not given her an itemized list of what those damages were. How can she have left the place in disrepair but good enough to move another family in 4 days later?

So my question/s is/are. What is the best way to get my mothers security deposit back and what are the laws as far as CCTV systems on a tenants properties without their prior knowledge. I am sure there has to be privacy issues and harrassment issue here. I am even inclined to think that he may have broken a few laws by instaling this CCTV system without her priormnoldge and consent. I am absolutely positive he breeched the lease due to he cnstruction not being done and th lease stating a 4 bedroom house not a 2 and CCTV system mentioned and the fact he was on her porch without prior consent. Im not all that up on renters rights so any insight or comments about what i have written would be greatly appreciated.

I just moved out of an apartment I shared with a roomate. We were able to break the lease and were told we would receive our deposit back minus a 10% charge for breaking the lease. My roomate and I had to break the lease because her dog acted very violently against my pet. After it was agreed we could break the lease she would no longer talk to me. I called her to tell her when I was moving and tried to set a arrangement to clean the place. She would never answer or return my calls. All our friends will no longer talk to me. When I told the landlord this he kept wanting to argue with me and told me I was responsible for everything in the place. The end of the month has come I spent three days cleaning up this place where I hardly lived and she lived there before I moved in. She never did anything to clean or remove her trash so I had to do it all. I wrote a letter to the landlord stating everything I did and the fact that my roomate did nothing. Is ther a way I can get my deposit back and she doesn’t?

My husband and I got change to move into a townhome and break out lease in the apartment that we are actually currently living in. Our apartment management told us that we had to have a 2 months notice and a fee equal to one months rent AND the cost of painting the walls and cleaning the carpet and PLUS a fee of $160 for what they call a RETRO free.. anyway.. we are moving out this coming week,we just put our notice in so our 2 months wouldn’t be up until the 31st of Janurary.. Well, t hey showed our apartment yesterday to a couple who is very interested and I want to know if since we have a 2 months notice if it’s legal for them to rent out our apartment since we are paying the Janurary rent and if they are going to rent it out is it right for me to tell them i want that money back since they aren’t loosing anything??

I don’t have a lease. I did the first year I lived in this apt., but when the year was up, the landlord did not have me sign another lease for the 2nd year. When I first moved in, I gave the landlord a month’s rent (for security deposit). My question is: now that I’m moving out, can I tell her to use my security money as my last month’s rent? My apt. is in great shape–so I know that I should not be charged for damage. If I had a lease, I could understand my answer would probably be no, but since I don’t — can I do this.

I lived in a house for 5 years put down last months rent and a security deposit. we left on not such good terms with the landlord so i didnt even care about getting my security deposit back. i left her with new contact info and she never tried to contact me. now a year later i am trying to rent a new place and she is giving me a bad reference saying we owe her a lot of money. she had every chance to contact me and never did. i dont know what to do.

I PUT A $600 DEPSOIT DOWN FOR A ROOM AND DIDN’T SIGN A LEASE IN DEC. MY LANDLORD TOLD ME I CAN PAY THE SECURITY AND MOVE IN AND PAY 150 A WEEK SO MY MOM BROUGHT A HOUSE SO I TOLD HIM I WAS MOVING OUT AND NEED MY SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK AND HE TOLD I DON’T HAVE A DEPOSIT BUT I PAID MY RENT ON TIME EVERY WEEK SO WHY IS HE NOT GIVING ME MY DEPSOIT BACK

I rented an apartment for a year and 5 months. There is a clause in my lease aggreement that said:

“TERMINATION OF TENENCY BY LESSEE: RESIDENT shall give to LANDLORD written notice of no less than (30) thirty days in advance of his intention to vacate the apartment or shall pay an entire month’s rent if such notice is not given to LANDLORD. Regardless of when and how apartments are vacated. RESIDENT will be held liable for full rental price until all keys are returned in to manager.”

As a responsible tenant, I did send them a letter informing them of my intention to leave exactly one month in advance and I reveived an acknowledgement of it. Another letter informing me to prepare the apartment for the final walkthrough, which I did by going through the checklist they sent me and hiring a professional cleaner to do some work. We did the walkthrough and I gave them the keys and everything. After I move out, the landlord called me and asked to write them a full rent amount of check because they haven’t rented back the apartment as of that moment to cover for it or else, she say, she will do such a thing that will affect my credit history.

Up to this date, I haven’t receive my deposit back and they’re still calling me asking to continue paying the rent even if I no longer live there, since they argue that I broke my lease. And if I don’t pay, they will charge me of penalty, etc.

Did you sign a hold agreement? If so, it probably stated that if you change your mind, you dont’ get the deposit back. If you have nothing in writing, that’s to your advantage. Either take it to small claims court, or file a complaint with Consumer Protection. (Forget the Better Business Bureau — they’re pretty useless.)

Check your state’s landlord tenant law – in PA, for instance, the landlord is required to send something in writing regarding the disposition of the security deposit within thirty days. IF the tenant has given a forwarding address in writing, the landlord can be forced to pay damages of two-times the deposit, plus the deposit, to the tenant.

If you signed a one-year lease and moved out after 5 months, then you did break the lease and they are legally allowed to charge you the rent until they fill the apartment. You probably should have looked into subletting the apartment for the remaining 7 months of your lease. I’m not sure there is anything you can do at this point.

Note that the 30 day notice really refers to moving out once your lease (i.e. 12 months) is up. This way, they will know that they can lease your apartment to someone else, should they find a tennant who wants to move in immediately once you move out.

Is there any clause that states upon the lease being broken resident is responsible until the apt is rented again?…….you can also search on your states web site, there should be a link to landlord tenant rights. you can get further clarification.

Did your lease go month-to-month after the first year was up? Check your agreement. It should state how long your lease was (typically 1 year, but it varies) and whether it would go month-to-month after the initial lease period ends.

You said you were there for 1 yr, 5 months, right? If your lease went month-to-month after the first year, then the landlord has no right to do this to you. If your lease was longer, or it renewed, then unfortunately you do have to pay. This happened to my husband before we were married when he lost his job and had to move. He had to continue to pay rent until they filled the unit.

Legally, no. Whether you have a lease or not has nothing to do with it. It just means you won’t have to pay rent if the place stays vacant once you move out.

You can ask her, but it would be reasonable for her to say no. If you’re on good terms, and show her that the place is in good condition she may agree-especially if you’re in a bind and she likes you.

The first place I rented on my own, I asked this of my landlord. She had just done it for a previous tenant, but she refused because she didn’t like me. She was planning on just keeping my deposit, and I had to threaten to sue her just to get any of it back.

The deposit is for damages-what if you destroy a window or two on moving day when you’re carrying a sofa or something? It happens. You’ll probably get your deposit back anyway.

If you’re responsible for the place, then it’s your name on the lease. The deposit should go back to you-all of it. If she’s not responsible, then that means she wasn’t on the lease, right? I don’t see how the landlord could send her a check if he’s not holding her responsible for damages, that doesn’t make sense. FYI, the landlord probably won’t care about any of the other circumstances.

If she is on the lease, then the landlord was telling that to you because you were obviously more reliable than your roommate and he was figuring he’d have better luck with you. If he sends her the deposit, then there’s not much you can do. It sucks, your roommate should have helped, but you should probably move on and find better friends.

My fiance and I rented a house and put down first months rent and deposit before we could move in. We we lived there for about four months and had to move to a bigger house. We did not sign any kind of argreement or lease, it was month to month, our landlord didn’t even walk us through the house, he just gave us the key to look for ourselves. He is now not giving us our deposit back because he said that we didn’t give him enough notice, and he is going to keep our deposit until someone else moves in. He said since it is already the third of the month he will deduct everyday until it is rented. We left the house cleaner than what it was when we left, what can we do? Can he keep our deposit if we had no agreements with him, I also have all the recipts from our deposit and rent.

when i moved into my appartment i paid first,last and security deposit which was 850.00 for each. so when i move should i get my deposit back and my last months rent if i move out on the 30th? i pay my rent on the first of the month and it covers the 1st -30th so that means they dont need to hold the last month rent if i move on the 30th since i’ve already paid for that month.

Borst Park Apartments in Centralia, WA. kept my deposit. After we spent all night cleaning the place they sent a BS letter charging $30 an hour for 18 hours of cleaning. I never knew cleaning people made 60k a year. Be careful, i hear they do this to everyone.

The Brookhaven (Atlanta, GA), formerly Lenox Pointe, will keep your deposit upon moving out. The building was sold to investors in January 2006 to convert the apartments to condos. Renters were told that they would have to move out at the end of the lease. When units didn’t sell, either to existing renters or new buyers, renters were allowed to renew lease. I was told that my unit had sold and I would have to move out, despite eight unsold renovated units on my floor. I was offered another unit at a much higher rental rate. I found a great, completely new apartment. Wingate management returned only $24 of $1000 in deposits after I moved out. No letter of explanation was sent. Don’t rent here.

I moved from an apartment the 31st of January. Today it´s May 22nd, and I STILL DON´T HAVE MY DEPOSIT BACK!. This is so frustrating.

The first time “the check was supposedly lost in the mailbox”…or that´s whay they said. Later, it takes 90 days to REISSUE a new one (unbelievable burocracy). I´ve gone like 25 times (once a week or twice) to the management office ( I now live near that place) asiking for my check..is it sent? where is it? Today they told me to go and don´t come back. They gave me a phone number of the accounting company (or something like that), I called, and they tolf me they could only deal with Managers…I just have the slight impression taht someone´s laughing at me! I told them this..and they say they want my money back, and that they don´t know…etc…

Does anybody know what can I do?

They told me if I want to sue them…I could first sue the Post Office company, because they have proof that they sent the checks (proof I have never seen, of course)…they said all this in a disturbing “funny” way.

My husband and I moved out of a house in PA on April 29, 2007. On Monday, April 30, 2007 we had a walk thru with the landlord. He told use everything looked good and that he would only take out the amount needed to fix the ceiling in the kitchen (while moving my husband slipped and his foot went through the floor of the attic – we fixed the hole but not 100% the way it should have been – we put drywall but no tape/paint). We were also told that he would mail us our deposit minus the ceiling repairs on Tuesday (the next day) or by Wednesday. On May 15 my husband call (2 weeks later) and got no answer – as we had yet to receive the deposit. They did not return our call. On the 17th my husband tried again and finally got ahold of someone. My husband was told that they had mailed a letter to us that day stating that we were not getting any of our security deposit back. We received the letter on Sat. May 19th. They have now deccided to take our for removal and replacement of carpets and to wallpaper the bathroom (we had painted with their permission). Can they legally keep our deposit when we had a walk thru and was told they would only substract the $90 to repair the kitchen ceiling?

Unfortunately, your landlord is right. You broke your lease and you are responsible for the rest of it until someone else moves in up until the remaining 7 months. The 30days applies to when your lease is almost up…i.e. the last 30 days of your lease. You are to inform them if you will not be renewing your lease but you moved out after only 5 months into your new lease.

My Fiance and I just moved out of a house that we have been renting little over a year we paid a security bond of $1600.00 and a pet bond of $100.00 we were told when we moved in that when leaving we would have to pay the Water Rates and any excess amount due to the water corp if we were to go over our allocated usage which we agreed to thinking that we would pay this from the deposit and have enough to go on a holiday. We moved out on Friday and had the Final expection yesterday, they had already given us a list of stuff the needed to be done in there ‘get your bond back section’ however they called today to inform us that they were going to have to get a cleaner in because when we cleaned the windows we left some marks on them down the sides from the soap and water used. They also asked us why we replaced the tap in the toilet sink and in the laundry room and why we did not replace them with ones the same colour to match the taps on the shower and bath and that we will be charged for replacing them however we never changed them they are the same taps that have been there since we moved in. They are also claiming that we have taken a one of the hoses for cleaning the pool when we remember placing it back in the shed we had already told them that we were leaving all the excess chemicals that we bought and paid for at the house for the next tennants as we do not have a pool in our new house. so dont know why would we need the hose for cleaning a pool?!?!?!. We were not in the house when the inspection was done however they also mentiond that the owner was also there over the weekend. They are now requesting that they keep our bond to pay for the cleaners, taps and pool hose and water. Can they do this if the house is clean it wasnt us that changed the taps and we did not steal the hose?

My husband and I rented a house last July and we have just recently moved out this May, ultimately breaking our lease by two months. However we did give her notice in April that we found a much cheaper house and that we were having problems paying our rent. We were charged a $1395 deposit and she stated that we could not get our deposit back because we broke our lease and she had to repaint and pay to advertise the house to find other renters. Meanwhile 4 days after we moved out she had other people move in and we repainted, cleaning and shampooed the carpets before vacating. Is there anything we can do in order to try and get some of our deposit back now that she found renters. Otherwise she collected the new renters deposit, first month’s rent and now has our $1395 deposit for the house be vacant 4 days!

I would like to know what is required by law to be done to an apartment ie: painting, cleaning..etc.. before moving in. I lived in an apartment for 4 months before transferring to another and I am a SUPER clean person, and they are trying to keep my entire deposit and charge me extra stating that they had to clean the oven and house (which i would imagine had to be done anyways) paint, (also) they are trying to charge me for the drip pans on the burners, and a million other absolutely ridiculous things! Someone please if you know e-mail me back SK0313S@AOL.COM

To above comment: We painted our whole apartment (1050 sq. ft) different colors and the supplies and paint were maybe $60-80.

That’s impossible. Don’t listen to this person. I am a landlord and my unit is over 1100 sq ft. 5 gallon bucket of quaity paint costs about $120. I would need to buy two of those. Rollers, about $10 or so. Tape, another $10. Containers to roll paint in, about $5. So you are looking at $265 mimimum. Lets say you pay someone $10/ hr to paint(way on the low end) at 15 – 20 hours. So add another $150 to $200 minimal onto that. This could very easily approach $600.

please let me know if you have found out any good feedback on this situation because i am in the same situation. but, i haven’t moved out yet but i am in the process and my landlord is threating not to give my deposit back if i leave

My husband and I moved out of our apt. complex after 2 years. When we moved in the carpets were clean but stained in various places (which was noted in our original walk through check list). We left the apt. in very clean condition and fully expected our security deposit to be returned. We instead received a letter stated that they need to replace all the carpeting b/c of pet stains and urine…which is not only completely false but offensive as well. (My dog is 5yrs old and FULLY house broken) They are charging me 534.00 for the carpet. My question is…the carpet was in need of replacing before we moved in. Can they really make up a “pet urine” claim and charge us to replace what we know needed replacing long ago??

Please check your local laws. In my state, landlords are only allowed to collect rent from a renter that has broken a lease until a new renter moves in. They are allowed to charge for advertising. There are placed on the internet that you can find information about local landlord/tenant laws.

Does a landlord have to provide keys in the state of Texas? we never recieved keys for the property even though the land lord said she would bring them to us. She just never did. Plus she did not correct the things she said she was going to fix such as painting and holes in the walls. Also, we never got a copy of the lease aggreement. I understand that is a law and if the tenant does not recieve a copy of the lease that the lease becomes null and void. Is this true? Also, a woman wrecked into the fence and tree while passing by. That has been a month ago. The landlord has not fixed the fence or the tree. Is that neglegent since it has been a month ago?

I am trying to get our deposit back and our landlord sent us a list (by e-mail) with various deductions, which i signed and sent off. I then recieved an e-mail saying they had forgotten to add something else which was £150 – can you change your mind after you’ve already decided on a price?

I’m in the same situation right now. My husband, sister in law and I all cleaned the apartment before moving out, and we have pictures to prove it. Our landlord is saying that we owe above our deposit as well, and $120 of that is cleaning…which is absolutely absurd since we left the apartment cleaner than when we rented it in the first place! We had a change of management in the middle of our less than a year lease, and I think it’s created a lot of confusion. I was charged for a drip pan as well, and a few other ridiculous accusations. We asked to be present when they did the walk through and she claims that we signed something that said we didn’t want that, which I would never do knowingly. It truly frustrates me to feel like the management doesn’t think I’m an adequate tenant when I worked so hard to keep the apartment in such great shape.

My landlord is keeping my deposit to replace the carpet in my room because there is a large red wine stain on it. It was steam cleaned twice, but it wouldn’t come out. However, a new tenant moved in and he did not replace the carpet. Is this legal? Can he just keep the deposit so that when he sells the condo in a couple of years he will have the money for new carpet? And what if he charges the new tenant for damages she might do to the carpet when she moves out? He already kept $900 of my money for it. I just want to know if he can keep the money for damages without actually fixing anything.

we have lived in our apartment for 15 years, it’s not in the best shape, like things that they should have redone. like paint and carpet. Things lke that. what are the limitations of wear and tear after 15 years. I can’t seem to find anything on it.

Well, I rented an apartment almost a year ago. I have a lease for a year and I am planning to move in December before my lease ends. My land lord is just the devil itself. Can I get money back from my deposit if I brake the lease before its over?

What u can do is send them a letter demanding your sec. dep. back. Make sure to send it certified with a return receipt and give them a time period. This will rush things a bit, and if you have to take them to court at least you have a paper trail and proof that u send them the demand letter. normally they have a time period to send your money back, if not u can sue for 2 or 3x the amt. depending where you live. Hope this helps, and good luck.

You should sue them in court cause thats not a reasonable charge. Did they give you a list of deductions and receipts of paying these people. They need to give you all the charges accounted for or you can sue

If you ful-filled your lease agreement and gave the full 30 day notice and moved out already, then you shouldnt have to pay additional rent. You should be able to get your full sec. dep. back. If it’s been over the time period to return it, then send them a demand letter (certified w/return reciept). If still nothing back, then u can sue for 2 or 3x the amt. of sec. dep. back, depending on what state your in. Hope this helps, good luck.

People collect insurance money for dents in their cars and never get them fixed. If you damaged the carpet you are responsible for paying for the damage that you did. The carpet is worth less now along with the whole property is worth less now then before due to the carpet being damaged. Why should the owner eat the cost ?? If somebody hit your car but you were planning on trading it in tommorrow anyway, you would still expect that person to pay for the dent wouldn’t you.

According to the Tenanat Landlord Act under the state laws of PA….. when you move out the landlord has 30 days to process your security deposit and either send you a refund or an explanation of charges or both if applicable. As for the “saying” one thing and doing another…. verbal agreements don’t mean anything and won’t hold up…. if it ain’t in writing, it is worthless.

I rented a house where the land lord used the garage for his business. He told me he worked on a car in the garage but never told me he ran a business from the garage. he also used my power to run his business. He had 5 cars in my yard and by the end before i moved he had 7 or more. he never fixed the dishwasher that wouldnt drain, cover the bared wires to teh fuse box or remove the junk cars and chemicals laying around. I continued to ask him but nothing never happened. I finally moved out after 3 weeks. Now i am taking him to court. do you think i will win with. i have pics of proof and also letters crom the city code department to clean up the cars and cpics of the mess he wanted me to live in with my grandkids

Yes tis is illegal. If he’s keeping the security deposit to fix the carpet, then he has to fix it. Your right, he probably keeps charging tenants for the red stain! He is supposed to fix it before a new tenant moves in.

I rented with two other people and I moved out but they are still residing at the apartment. How do I get my part of the deposit back? How long must I wait? I don’t know if they have a new roommate but I know these people will try to screw me over. I took pictures of the place before I left and haven’t heard anything about giving me back my part of the deposit. Help. I want my money back!

My apartment burned down last week. I lost almost everything. I paid three months rent as security because I have a dog. I had lived there for two years. When I contacted the landlord about getting my security deposit back he said that I wasn’t going to because he needs to fix the place back up (and I have found a new apartment so I won’t be living there) Is this legal? I didn’t start the fire. What should my course of action be?

Should I bother repairing several large holes in the walls before moving out? It’s going to cost me almost half my security deposit to get them repaired, plus I have some wine stains in the carpet. I’m thinking of just cutting my losses with the security deposit just to avoid the hassle. What do you guys think?

we moved into our apartment on aug29th of 2007 our lease ends in march 2008 and we are concidering getting a larger place for less then i pay now. we pay 666 for a 650 sqft 1 bed 1 bath. its small and there is little air pockets in the walls from them painting the wall white after every tenant. and there was new carpet when we moved in. there is wear and tear in front of the doors from us walking. but the tile areas are like sticker tile and have like a yellow ding to them from previous ppl leaving wet rugs done. my whole family has worked in the cleaning business so i know how to clean and it wont come up i noticed it two or 3 days after we moved in can and asked to add it to my walk thru papers. and they said no . can they do that? we also had to pay additional fees for our credit so we had a 350 move in fee 50 each for applications 100 waiver for insurance and extra 500 for something or other would i get the 500 back i think it was a deposit of some sort

Help us!! My wife and I moved out of an apartment we rented for over three years. Our lease ended early November 2007. We had paid a $770 security deposit and did not hear from our landlord even after calling them repeatedly. Last Friday, January 4, 2008, I stopped by their office and they claimed that something had gone wrong with the mail, and as a result I had not received an overview of costs and a refund of my deposit yet. I asked for any evidence indicating this problem, and they said I should come back later in the day so they could give me the forms. When I returned, they handed me a cost overview and supposed receipts, claiming that they needed to replace all the carpets and the vinyl kitchen floor in the unit, and that together with other repairs the total costs exceeded $4000. On our kitchen floor, which was quite old vinyl when we moved in, we caused a burn mark. In one of the two bedrooms, we caused a burn mark on the carpet due to a hot iron. The rest of the carpets looked essentially the same as when we moved in. On top of that, I checked our old unit yesterday (January 4, 2008, I looked through the windows), and they had in fact not done any work to any of the floors. The burn mark in the kitchen was still there, and on the downstairs carpet I could still see the imprints of where our furniture had been. What should I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Your landlord cannot charge you to fix something and then not fix it. Check your local laws, but in most places, the landlord is required to provide you with itemized receipts of any work he has done if he wants to be able to take the charges out of your deposit. Ask for receipts to verify the completed work. If he can’t produce them, take him to court.

I am breaking my lease 2 months early and am wondering if I can get my security deposit back and if I will be held responsible for the final 2 months rent? I was told that a lease can be broken if your moving for work but I haven’t been able to find anything confirming this on the net. Due to lack of work in my area of Florida I am closing my business and have a job offer 2 hours from here and am considering taking it and relocating. I have already given written notice that I’d be moving for work but would rather not loose my $1500.00.

I rented an apartment with two other people. They are still living in it while I had moved out. I talked to my landlord and she said I would have to get the deposit from them instead of her. The other two people is not on good terms with me so they are not giving me back my money. Is this right? How can I make sure that I can get it back? I was thinking to bring it up into court. Does anyone have any opinions or suggestion on how to deal with this situation? Thanks!

I’ve lived in my apartment for 4 yrs and i’m now leaving but im having major issues with my landlord. i have been a good tenant and have always paid my rent on time.There are various repairs that the landlord has been informed of that have yet to be repaired, like for instance the broken door i have been living with since my apartment was robbed in june(9 months ago) and the large crack in my bedroom ceiling due to water damage from the old leaking roof.i’m afraid the landlord has no intention of giving me back my security deposit. when i told them i was leaving because i bought a house the response was “oh thats great because we have to get in there and fix some things anyway” They let me live in the place falling down around me but when i leave they are going to fix it? Iexplained to him needed the extra money for my settlement so i havent paid my last months rent yet (first time i’ve ever paid late)When i asked if they could use my security deposit which is the same amount as the rent they told me its stated in the lease that the security deposit is not to be assumed as the last months rent and that i would be charged a late fee.so i explained i will pay the rent with my next paycheck.He told me hes concerned i will skip out without paying him the last month.I feel i have to pay it to keep a clear concisous but i fear they will not return my money to me.There is no damage in my apartment aside from ordinary wear and tear. Im a single mother and i dont have money to just give away. I dont know what to do?Why are they so persistant about getting the last months rent if they have my security deposit and theres no major damage?
CK

Recently I moved out of an illegal basement suite. At the time I did not know that this was one. I left a few things in the fridge and one stain in the 2nd bedroom that I did not even use or couldn’t even see. I was deducted 287.50 out of the 387.50. I feel like this is not right. What should I do? Any suggestions?

Based on my recent experience dealing with just these kind of issues, I would say first, did you get a move out statement? If you didn’t, get on the internet and find out what the required time period is for them to send you one. If they did not within the alotted time, they cannot withhold any portion of your deposit, regardless of damages. If they did, request pictures of the damage along with an invoice paid for repair. If they don’t have an invoice, they can’t bill you so send them a deposit demand letter and take it to small claims if the amount is worth it to you.

They probably don’t want to give up that money until they are SURE that there are no damages. Just make sure that you know your rights before moving out. Do a walkthrough with the landlord and keep all repair requests that you have given him in the past. Make sure that you know how long they have to give you your deposit back or get you a statement that says why they are not. In WA, that is 14 days. You should be able to find that info for your state on any internet search engine.

Actually this is not legal. If he keeps your deposit, he must provide with a written statement that explains why within the time alotted for your state. If he doesn’t he owes you the full deposit regardless. If he does, he must also produce proof (i.e. invoices) that he actually repaired the carpet. If he can’t do that, I would take him to small claims court.

My landlord sent a letter that they were keeping all $300.00 of my security deposit plus I owed them $185.00 more. All but the 185.00 was for painting, and apt cleaning. The 185.00 was for a red stain on carpet. To make a long story short I disagreed with this since apt leaning and painting is normal wear and tear. The hitch is that their notice was not sent to me by certified mail. According to Fl. Statues 83.49 they have to send it certifeid or they forfiet any claim to it. I notified them of that and they then sent a letter sayng they made a clerical error and they have to return my full security deopist of $300.00 back to me.
After they said that they then told me that the error does not void the charges and are telling me to remit $485.00 to them within 30 days or they will turn me over to a collection agency! So in theory they are sending my $300.00 back but then asking me to send it back along with $185.00 more! Does anyone know if this is legal in Florida?

I recently moved out of an apartment after a 6-Month Lease.
The House was kept in an excellent condition and every effort put in to keep it clean.

All except the Kitchen Sink which was stained and scratched. The sink is not physically damaged/cracked or chipped.
Its discolored and the porcelain is scratched at some spots ( Don’t ask me how )

It is made of white Porcelain and is about 7 Years Old.

Since the landlord has planned to put the house on the market , she had to replace the sink.
She has replaced the sink and is charging us for the cost of the Sink and the labor involved in replacing it from the Security Deposit.

California law allows for the security deposit to be used to repair items that we damaged during the period of the rental beyond “normal wear and tear”.
From forums I have “A sink should not be a charge unless you did irreparable damage to it. And labor is NEVER an allowable charge!”

Is this Irreparable Damage beyond Normal Wear and Tear?
A patchy functional Sink is still functional . Right ?
Should the Depreciation of the Sink also be taken into account ?

My husband and I have rented a house in Florida. We have lived here for almost 2 years and we found out that they sold the house sight unseen (unless they entered our house without us knowing). The new owners want us out ASAP and our lease isn’t up until October. Can they do that? And are they obligated to pay for some of our relocation fees?

I MOVED INTO A RENTAL HOME IN THE LAST WEEK OF MARCH AND THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL I MOVE OUT AND MY FATHER TOOK OVER THE PROPERTY, I HAVE YET TOO SEE MY DEPOSIT THAT “I” PAID TO THE LANDLORD AND IVE CALLED HIM SEVERAL TIME AND HE NEVER RETURNS MY CALLS AND HASNT RETURNED MY DEPOSIT EITHER….
WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?

I moved out of my apartment 3months ago.That makes my deposit 2months late already and they still pretend it was mailed out.If they mailed out my check like they claim why do they hang up on me when I call and just don’t return my calls?I’m tired of being treated like a pest when it’s my money and I want it back!I’m tired of hearing apologies about it,I just want them to do there job.Village at cortez sure acts like it’s a great place to live when moving in and forget to tell you what a problem it is moving out.I am 7 in a half months preagnet and have no money to get my babies nursery together,and still no one cares.It’s been a stressful time for me lately coming home every day and hoping my deposit will be in the mail.

If you are the one who paid the deposit and signed the contract, then the apartment is yours and your roommates are your tenants and you are responsible for them. If they wont pay the deposit then evict them! If you are already moved out then that might not work if you are no longer paying rent. If your roommates signed separate contracts with your landlord, then your landlord is responsible for them and in that case your landlord would be responsible for paying back your deposit.

Hello – I recently moved out of an apartment due to the landlord’s unwillingness to fix problems in the apartment and their general negligence. I had the apartment professionally cleaned (but did not have photos of it after cleaning). The landlord did not tell me when she was doing the walk through despite my request for her to do so. After the walk through she called me and told me that she was charging me from the security deposit for a “filthy” refrigerator. (the refrigerator had one smudge on the door) The new tenant then moved in. Next she calls me telling me that the new tenant was complaining of dirty cabinets and is now going to charge me for professional cleaning of the apartment. I am wondering a couple things:

1) She did not tell me when she was doing the walk through despite my request for her to do so. Is this illegal?

2) She is attempting to charge me for items detected after the walk through and after the new tenant has moved in. Is this legal?

3) The lease states that the apartment should be reasonably cleaned and in the condition in which I found it. It was pretty much consistent with that. I have no pictures. Any way to argue this point? Do these items fall under general wear and tear?

4) What is my recourse to resolve these issues? She is now being very rude to me and hung up on me last time I called.

Moving out July 31st and worried we won’t get our security deposit back. We haven’t caused any damage to the apartment and our landlords have always been very good to us. However, I am worried that we won’t get our security deposit back. Over a year and half ago there was extensive water damage to the business below our apartment. Our landlord came into both of the upstairs apartments and investigated what the cause could have been. We were informed that they could not find any cause from either apartment. But they requested that we purchase a plastic shower curtain to use, we had a fabric one, and always keep it on the inside of the tub. She figures that the water had accumulated under the floor from our shower curtain and then busted out when it got too full.
Anyways when our landlord was showing our apartment to a new tenant I let the perspective tenant know that we would be shampooing all of the carpets and having a professional cleaner come in. My landlord told us not to bother doing these. This makes me worry that she is already planning on not giving us our security back.

Take them to court. Your deposit should be returned to you within thirty days, assuming you provided them with a forwarding address. Also, not sure about all states, but in some, when you sue for your deposit you are automatically eligible to receive double your initial deposit. I am dealing with this same situation now.

I’ve been living in my apartment for 15months. I paid first & last month rent and one month security. In the state of PA, Do the landlord have the right too keep my last months rent or can I use it as rent of choice.

I have moved out of a house i was renting. The landlords letting agent has sent me a letter saying that our cats left fleas in the house and that the council had fumigated it a few times for free but advised the removal of the carpets. They are wanting to use our deposit to pay for the new carpets. I have been in touch with the pest control man and he told me that not at any time did he advise that the carpets be replaced. He advised them that they are treatable and not to hoover for one week. I have his contact number and name and can prove he did not say they need to be removed. We are a clean living family and do treat our pets for fleas and such. Although as the pest control officer said that there had been a huge problem in the area of the house this year.
can any one give me some advice. We are waiting on the security deposit pack coming so we can have our say
thanks lee hickson

We’re still waiting for our security deposit. It’s been 30 days and we keep calling them and they never answer or call us back. We have an interesting situation. We lived in this place for a year. $600 a month and a $900 deposit on a 300 sq ft hole in the wall that was actually sectioned off from a house and made into two apts. The place is a slum. It’s infested with black mold. I don’t know if it’s “the black mold” but whatever it is, it’s disgusting, it ruined a lot of our stuff we kept in the closet, gave us allergies, and made us really sick a couple of times. The thing is, we signed a no pet agreement because it was an extra $400 that we just couldn’t spare. We got a puppy after a couple of months anyway and just kept her a secret. Well, we moved out and had the carpet professionally cleaned, but they said the place smelled like dog and that they were going to have to replace the carpet. We were told before we moved in by the secretary that they were planning on replacing the carpet anyway.They’re just trying to do it on our dime! They were very difficult to contact but they did say over the phone that they were getting quotes for the carpet. We never admitted to having an animal. Can we still get our whole deposit back because they took too long to send us a letter or are we going to get ourselves in over our heads trying to fight them?

My roommates and I moved out of our house last year and the landlord waited too long to return our deposit (both longer than what his own lease stated and what the state required). When he did finally return it, he took 3/4 of it and the only two things itemized on it were “cleaning and windows”. All we did was write him a letter stating that this was unnacceptable and that he violated the law (very professional business letter). We stated that unless he returned the FULL deposit, we would be pursuing legal action where we could redeem up to 3x the deposit amount (california). A week later we got a check in the mail…

I moved into a flat and paid 300 deposit, and had 5 pounds taken of me a week for heating. When I first moved in, the heating was on once a day for the first week. After that It was never on, infact the landlord got an extension and cut off the pipes to our heating in the process. I had to use my electric fire, increasing my electricity costs and the place was still cold and damp, like living in a barn. When mopving out and cleaning up, everything was wrecked because of the damp conditions, Blue mold on the carpet, walls and all my furniture. Surely this was there fault?? In general, the place was very damp, and that is at their own cost?? They don’t seem to realise that if the put extra insulation in, it wouldn’t be that bad. Anyway, the are taking 100 pound of me for a stain in the carpet, and I need some advice. They actually owe me 130 pounds that I paid for heating I was not getting!!! So angry!! HELP….

Hello, I am not sure where you live, but I live in California and I looked up the California Department of Consumer Affairs-California Tenants. You could do the same, just replace in the info above with whatever state you live in. They give info on what your rights are as far as refunds of your security deposit. Hope this helps

I paid a $600 deposit three years ago, and I will be moving soon. Here is my worry: the floors look like hardwood, but they are really just some kind of plastic. My living room furniture scratched the floors up pretty badly. I never did anything unusual or destructive to the floors. The furniture legs simply scratched it up.

Will this be an expensive repair? Will it cost more than the $600? There is no other damage in my apartment.

I moved out of an apartment that I leased for 2 years signing 2 separate lease agreements. This is in the state of Florida and I received my notice of claim of deposit from my landlord. Amoung the charges were 3 late charges that occured during the first lease and 1 during the second lease. I never had a late payment and never received not one notice from them that it had been late. Now they are charging me 115.00 for each incident, totalling 345.00 for late fees. Can they do this when it wasn’t late?

I was planning on moving into a rental house. They required me to pay $600 to hold the property..that was 4 days ago. I had a family emergency come up and now I can’t move in *In a month*. I emailed the lady that I signed a lease with and she said…sorry to inform you.. but your deposit is nonrefundable. Well, It clearly says on the lease that it is a security deposit and they will give it back to me except for the “painting fee” they will take out. I havent even moved in yet!?? Can they take that money from me??? I wrote a check to them.. but I have no money in the bank. Is this legal???

I rented a room from a freak in DC and now she won’t give me back my security deposit. I have been out for three weeks now and she is making things up about the damage I caused. Said I got colored shampoo on her cheap bathroom rug and I rubbed a spot on her antique headboard leaning against it!

I will take her to court- but can I advertise on CL about her and make sure noone else rents from her.

I recently received legal papers initiated by my landlord for an Eviction;however,since I was already in process of moving to another apartment i wasn’t worried. After being served, I appeared on court date specified-Landlord was a No Show-case was then Post Poned and new date to appear was provided.Again I appeared, Landlord a No Show – My case was then DISMISSED!!iN ADDITION TO THE EVICTION MY LANDLORD WAS CLAIMING THAT I WAS BEHIND 3 MONTHS($850)AND TRYING TO COLLECT ON THIS.

Question: I reside in NJ and would like to know if I were to sue my Landlord for my security deposit($1,200) can she reopen the discussion about my supposedly owing her 3 months rent after she failed to appear both times on this very matter plus the eviction? What would the possibility of the judge listening to her claim?Or does the judge just want to here matters related to the security deposit such as damages to apartment?

we moved out our apartment over a year ago. the first year we had a lease after that first year, it was a month-to-month basis. we gave him the first and last months rent plus a deposit. he refused to give it to us back when we movied out. we have been fight this for a year and now were going before a judge. any suggestions?

My Landlord has added surcharges to the fees for the “damages” done to the apartment. These surcharges were imbedded into the cost of the “damages” such as general cleaning and repair when I moved out so I was only made aware of the surcharges after I asked to see a copy of the receipts. That is when they explained that they included surcharges to the costs incurred to them for the cleaning. When I asked them what the surcharges were for they said it was for the labor of the people who inspected the apartments. But these people are part of their staff, is this legal?

i had a month to month lease we paid it the begining of the month (1st) me n my roommate didnt pay we advised thelandlord we would n ask ifthere was any late feesshe said no cuz its near chirstmas so we went to take her the money to her house on the (8th) but than realized before we give her the rent money she wanted to vacate us by the (10th) so we told her we rather move out on the (10th) the lease say to give a 30 day notice but since she vacted us r we still breaking the lease plus wut happens to our deposit we also still have a tv in there n one couch wut will happen

I moved in to this house in CT in september of 08′. I am subletting my room in December and had a verbal agreement with my landlord to do so. I found someone to sublet my space for the remaining time of the lease, and they are paying first, last and a security deposit. My landlord not only feels entitled to her sec deposit, but is also keeping my deposit of $600 for “legal fees” and a “background check,” which I feel is garbage. He fails to provide me with receipts for these “fees” that he is deducting from my deposit and has ended all contact with me two weeks prior to me leaving the state. Is he allowed to keep my security deposit if I am subletting and found someone to sublet who is paying him a security deposit?

Hi im renting an apartment, the two people i shared with have moved out and will not be getting their deposit back. The landlord has told me that i now have to move out aswell and will not receive my deposit back even though i have only three months left on the lease. Is this allowed ? He also offered me a room in another apartment with two other people. I like where i am at the moment and would like to stay here. Do i have any rights?

I am moving out of an apartment that I lived in for 3yrs and 6 months. Can the leasing office charge me for cleaning the carpet and painting the walls etc? Surely there must be something in place that says that carpets get dirty in 3 yrs and will need to be cleaned regardless of stains etc? And painting would be required as part of maintenance of the building? We live in California

I am moving out of an apartment that I lived in for 3yrs and 6 months. Can the leasing office charge me for cleaning the carpet and painting the walls etc? Surely there must be something in place that says that carpets get dirty in 3 yrs and will need to be cleaned regardless of stains etc? And painting would be required as part of maintenance of the building? We live in California

EVERY RENTER HERE NEEDS TO TAKE REPONSIBILTY FOR THERE RENTAL! Damage to another persons property if not paid for to repair is a crime. So pay for the repairs and THANK your landlord for providing you with a nice place to live!

Thank you very much for your information, it was very helpful. I will be moving in July, I was in the city for 17 years, moved here July of 2008. The landlord had promised to paint, and put new carports in the room. The day that he were due to get the rest of the deposit money/give us the key, we came in and he had’nt done anything as far as painting, repairing, and putting different carpets down. He took $800.00 from my daughter and I, we came in the apartment and he had”nt done anything. So, when my lease is up in July, I will be moving.

i put down deposit on an apartment and was told that if i changed my mind i could get my deposit back. i also asked them not to deposit the check yet and was told that they would hold it until i called them. i have not seen the apartment and would have liked to have seen what i would be renting but have not yet seen the actual apartment. i changed my mind about renting the apartment but the management says that i cannot have my deposit back as i have already been approved and that the check has been cashed. the check has not gone thru yet…can i put a stop payment on the check or can they take legal action if i do? anyone know the answer to this??

I moved out the apartment which I had lived for last five years. after all cleanning was done, I returned all the keys on last day, on June 30, 2009, I told office women that if they find damages for deduction from my security deposit then in advance they need to let me to see it and agree on it.
They haven’t contact me, and this morning they told me that they took $565.oo for dirty wall with few pencil marks.

For 4 family members living in five years, I think getting dirty wall with some marks is normal.

Is it the case I have to pay for?
Who decide for the amount for fixing?
Can they make decision by themselves even though I ask for walk through together?

Hi, I Took an apartment for rent in the month of october 2008 from a owner who was a nice person, who duly conducted all legal documentation and we got a Rental Lease Deed signed. This apartment was provided by a reputed Bangalore based Real Estate Agent. During my stay the Real Estate agent bought the property and changed the Name Plate outside the house to her name and also started collecting the Rent. In May 2009, I gave the owner a verbal notice that I will vacate the flat in 1 months time and then finally shifted out on 27th June 2009. Just before I left the house, the owner got a new agreement signed stating that she would require this for to present to some company who is willing to take the house on rent. However, she has not given a copy of the registered agreement yet. At the time of leaving the house, I handed over the Keys and in return she gave a cheque towards refund of House Security deposit dated 17th Jul 2009. The owner also requested not to present the cheque, till she confirms.

Each time we approached to get a date for cheque submission she kept making excuses. Finally to avoid lapse of Cheque Validation we deposited the cheque to My Bank. The cheque went for collection to Drawers Bank and got dishonored. As per Banking Policy the Returned cheque was couriered to my Correspondence address. Unfortunately the cheque got lost by my company after recieving it at Mail Room. During this, I had no communication from any of the Banks on the cheque status.

During August assuming that the cheque has not been paid, we started to follow-up with the owner and she started making acquisitions and expressed intentions of Not Making the Payment. We approached the bank for the returned cheque and then we realised the cheque was lost. After talking to Bank Manager they confirmed that when they sent the cheque for clearance on 30th Jul 2009, the drawers bank confirmed that there was a STOP CHEQUE instruction on the cheque.

I have requested the bank to give in writing why the cheque was not cleared. Now the owner does not want to pay back the deposit and she has also put a STOP PAYMENT on CHEQUE. Please advice how can I recover my money and suggest me some association or entity which can help an outsider recover money from a House Owner, who is also a Real Estate Agent.

I need some help. Me, my husband, and our three-year-old daughter lived in an apartment for 3 years. When we moved in the carpet was kinda stained but for the most part it was a nice apartment. The previous tenants had a cat that clawed some of the carpet, and the carpet had not been installed properly. When we were getting ready to move I called our landlord, and asked if he would accept our security deposit as our las tmonths rent. He stated that he would have to take a look a the apartment and would let me know. About a week later he came by to check out the apartment. My sister-in-law wasthere and witneesed what took place. He looked around the apartment and stated that everything looked great, and that he was fine with taking our security deposit as last month’s rent while we were moving. We are all moved now, and two days ago recieved aletter stating that if we do not pay him for repairs we will e taken to small claims court for a total of $490, which is more than the security deposit was. He is saying that our carpet was dirty, and that it cost him $130 to have it cleaned. He also stated it was damaged. He then stated that he had to pay his girlfriend another $130 to clean it, the same apartment he had looked at and said was fine. He finally stated in the letter that we are being charged for damage to his furnace, because we turned off the gas and electric out of our name in the middle of Dec., it is now mid January. Thefurnacebroke while we lived in the apartment, and the reariman told us tht he needed to install a new one, because the repairs he mad were only temporary. The landlord at that time refused to buy a new furnace. We were never told that we had to keep utilities on in our name fo rthe remainder of that month, and to me it seems rediculous he would think we would. How does one pay for two sets of bills, while moving into anew home. I need help, I need to know what I can do to make this guyleave us alone with his shameless appeals for money from us.

I moved out of my apartment and two months ago a pipe behind the wall burst and my landlord is now trying to say that someone pulle the pipe and caused the damage to the dry wall. He has deducted 180.00 for repairs. I was getting ready to take a shower, turned on the water and the pipe came undone from the wall. What can I do to get my money back?

My girlfriend and I just moved out of Yale Court apartments in Morton PA. We gave the proper notice, paid rent on time =, kept to ourselves and cleaned before we left. 27 days after we moved out, we recieved a certified letter stating that not only are they keeping our security deposit $610 but charging us $450 for damage. An itemized damage list was sent to us. There was not one item on that list that was caused by us in the year and a half of living there. They are charging us a cleaning fee, when I know darn well we spent hours cleaning and steaming the carpets before we left. We were on a montht o month lease after our year was up. gave the landlord 30 day notice in writing and until the notice on the 27th, have not heard one word from him. Shouldnt he have ackowleged our notice? we ran into him and his wife several times int he hallways and they didnt even say hello. I called the landlord today (of course hes not available–always leaves his wife to do the dirty work). she claimed our cat(S), damaged a screen #1 we only had ONE cat, #2, we never opened the windows due to being on the bottom floor and fearing our cat could push thrrough the screen and get out. When i told her this information, she claimed that she has pictures of my cat(S) sitting in the window. (our windows had contact paper over them to avoid headlights pulling into the parking lot). She claims they photographed my cat(s)in the windows. Isnt that a breech of privacy?? If she photographed our cats, she wouldve had to do it while in the apartment and did not give ANY notice to us that they would be entering. She also claimed that there was carpet and wall damage. The walls were not very flat surfaced when we moved in and water damage was always visible. the apartment was not painted nor were there new carpets in it as she claimed. Does anyone know if I have a legal winning on this? I want my security deposit back and i refuse to pay for damages that were caused by neglect in caring for HIS building. Also, what kind of case do I have for the breech of privacy???

What is the statute of limitation in getting your security deposit back? Several years ago, I gave proper notice in leaving (30 days) and never received my security deposit. When I contacted them about this, they said that they kept it because they had to replace the carpet. Okay, I was never late with my rent, in fact my rent was always paid early. The only thing that needed to be done to the carpet was shampooing. I had little ones at the time, and yes they would spill some juice, and I would get it up, but it was not so bad that they had to replace the carpet. I asked someone else about this, and they said that they can do this, so I did not ask anyone else. Then I recently took the landlord tenant quiz, and found out that this can not happen. Can I still get my security deposit back after so many years, if so, am I entitled to any extra money?

here is a reply and comment from a landlord, we had a l lady move intyo our home last april , she leased the home with dog, we overlooked this, she broke the lease without notifying us, had cats there mos tof the time , smoked , also drilled holes in doors fro extra locks, the carpet was drenched with urine from the cats, and the claws detsroyed the carpet, when her brother moved out the things, he did a lot of damage to walls, deep marks, every room was filthy, the walls all had to be repaired, the floors were scratched, deep schratches from dragging furniture out, on purpose destroying walls, and ceilings, there were spray marks on almos t every ceiling too many things to mention, she left no forwarding adress, said to keep the sec, deposit and also if we can not rerent she would pay the rest of rent, we tried to rerent, it took 3 months to repais damages, the stench was terriible. now the renter is suing me, because i asked for the rest of the rent. just to let everyone know things also are not aalways clear and good for so called landlords, the so called lady moved from michigan to north caolina. .. landlords beware.

Every state will be different but your landlord probably should have sent you an itemized list of deductions he claimed, at which time you could have challenged this. The statute of limitations has probably run out and even if it had not, it would be difficult to go back after such a long time. A great thing to do before you move out of an apartment is to ask the landlord to come in and do an inspection. This way you can go over anything he claims you have damaged, beyond normal wear and tear” and you then have a chance to repair or replace anything that is necessary.